Pasay judge grants Abalos Taiwan trip

MANILA, Philippines - A Pasay City judge granted Wednesday a motion of former Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos to travel to Taiwan from Jan. 29 to 31.

Regional Trial Court Branch 112 Judge Jesus Mupas told Abalos to pay P100,000 as a travel bond for each of the two counts of electoral sabotage charges he is facing, spokesperson Felda Domingo said.

Mupas and another judge, Eugenio dela Cruz of RTC Branch 117, granted Abalos’ request to leave for Taiwan in November last year. Abalos failed to leave due to an invalidated passport.

Dela Cruz, who is trying Abalos on a separate electoral sabotage case, has yet to issue a decision on Abalos’ new petition.

The Sandiganbayan granted Abalos’ new petition last Jan. 8. Abalos’ lawyer, Gabriel Villareal, said his client was directed to pay a P180,000 travel bond for the two graft cases he is facing in relation to the national broadband network deal anomaly. – Perseus Echeminada, Michael Punongbayan